Flight time

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for monitoring athletic performances include determining “flight time,” e.g., the amount of time both feet are off the ground, and optionally “flight time” resulting from different types of activities, such as jogging, running, sprinting, jumping, etc. “Flight time” may help a player or coach better understand the effort the athlete is putting out, compare efforts of two or more players, gauge the athlete&#39;s performance change over time, and/or identify conditioning needs and/or areas for improvement. Such systems and methods also may generate and display various athletic performance metrics, such as: instantaneous flight time; average flight time; cumulative flight time during an athletic performance or other time period; instantaneous jump height; average jump height; cumulative jump height during an athletic performance or other time period; and comparisons of any flight time and/or jump height metric(s) of one player against another player and/or against himself/herself; etc.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/910,912, entitled “FLIGHT TIME,” filed Dec. 2, 2013, and U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/911,420, entitled “FLIGHT TIME,”filed on Dec. 3, 2013, which are expressly incorporated herein byreference in their entireties for any and all non-limiting purposes.

BACKGROUND

While most people appreciate the importance of physical fitness, manyhave difficulty finding the motivation required to maintain a regularexercise program. Some people find it particularly difficult to maintainan exercise regimen that involves continuously repetitive motions, suchas running, walking and bicycling.

Additionally, individuals may view exercise as work or a chore and thusseparate it from enjoyable aspects of their daily lives. Often, thisclear separation between athletic activity and other activities reducesthe amount of motivation that an individual might have towardexercising. Further, athletic activity services and systems directedtoward encouraging individuals to engage in athletic activities also maybe too focused on one or more particular activities while anindividual's interests are ignored. This may further decrease a user'sinterest in participating in athletic activities or using athleticactivity services and systems.

Further, with regard to professional and/or serious amateur athletes(e.g., pro-am athletes), many existing services and devices fail toprovide accurate assessment of one or more metrics, such as theirperformance, performance load, reaction, fatigue, among others. Existingdevices for flight time monitoring often suffer from one or moredeficiencies, including: cumbersome collection systems, inaccuratemeasurements that are beyond an acceptable threshold, unacceptablelatency in reporting the values, erroneous classification of activitiesbased upon detected motions of the user, failure to account fordeviations between different users, inapplicability of the collected orprocessed data to measure performance or other metrics, relatively highpower consumption, and/or a combination of these or other deficiencies.

Specific to airtime or flight time, prior attempts attempting toincorporate airtime as a metric merely focused on flight of one or bothfeet in the context of jumps. For example, with reference to basketballplayers, prior attempts may have considered an offensive player making ajump shot or a defensive player attempting to jump up to block the shotof the offensive player to determine flight time. As would therefore beexpected, such results would be highly correlated to total jumps duringthe same time period.

Therefore, improved systems and methods to address at least one or moreof these shortcomings in the art are desired.

SUMMARY

One or more of the deficiencies above and/or other shortcomings ofexisting solutions may be overcome by one or more aspects of theinnovations described herein. In accordance with one embodiment, asensor system integrated directly into footwear, including but notlimited to that typically worn by athletes for most activities.Embodiments relate to measuring and tracking one or more athleticmetrics including, but not limited to, flight time.

Aspects of this invention relate to systems and methods for monitoringathletic performances, as well as to non-transitory computer-readablemedia that include computer-executable instructions stored thereon forperforming the methods, running the systems, and/or providing the outputdata and displays to a user. In some aspects of this invention, athleticperformances will be monitored to determine “flight time,” e.g., theamount of time when both of the athlete's feet are not in contact with aground surface, and optionally “flight time” as a result of variousdifferent types of athletic activities, such as jogging, running,sprinting, jumping, or the like. “Flight time” may represent and/or helpa player or coach better understand the amount of effort the athlete isputting out, better compare the efforts of two or more players, bettergauge the athlete's performance change over time, and/or better identifyconditioning needs and/or areas for improvement. Systems and methodsaccording to at least some aspects of this invention also may generateand display various athletic performance metrics, such as: instantaneousflight time (e.g., milliseconds per flight or averagemilliseconds/flight); average flight time (milliseconds of flight/sec);cumulative flight time over the course of an athletic performance orother time period (e.g., adding up flight time); instantaneous jumpheight (e.g., inches per flight); average jump height; cumulative jumpheight over the course of an athletic performance or other time period(e.g., adding up jump heights); comparison of any flight time and/orjump height metric(s) of one player against another player; comparisonof any flight time and/or jump height metric(s) of one player againsthimself/herself; etc.

Some aspects of this invention relate to systems and methods foranalyzing athletic performance, e.g., for determining an athlete's“flight time” and/or “jump height” during such activities. Such systemsand methods may include a computer system for receiving input data,processing that data, and outputting data including athletic performanceanalysis information and/or metrics in a human perceptible manner. Suchsystems and methods may include input systems that: (a) receive rightfoot launch input data from a right foot sensor system relating to aplurality of right foot launch events, wherein the right foot launchinput data includes at least a timestamp associated with each right footlaunch event indicating a time that respective right foot launch eventoccurred; (b) receive left foot launch input data from a left footsensor system relating to a plurality of left foot launch events,wherein the left foot launch input data includes at least a timestampassociated with each left foot launch event indicating a time thatrespective left foot launch event occurred; (c) receive right footstrike input data from a right foot sensor system (e.g., the same or adifferent sensor system) relating to a plurality of right foot strikeevents, wherein the right foot strike input data includes at least atimestamp associated with each right foot strike event indicating a timethat respective right foot strike event occurred; and (d) receive leftfoot strike input data from a left foot sensor system (e.g., the same ora different sensor system) relating to a plurality of left foot strikeevents, wherein the left foot strike input data includes at least atimestamp associated with each left foot strike event indicating a timethat respective left foot strike event occurred. From this inputinformation, a computer processing system (e.g., including one or moremicro-processors or other computer components) may identify a first setof timestamps (or plural sets of timestamps), wherein the first set oftimestamps (and optionally each set of timestamps) includes temporallyadjacent right foot launch, left foot launch, right foot strike, andleft foot strike events. A first flight time for the first set oftimestamps (and optionally flight times for at least some, andoptionally each of the sets of timestamps) then may be determined basedat least in part on a time duration included by the first set oftimestamps when both the left foot and the right foot are simultaneouslynot in contact with a ground surface. As will be discussed in moredetail below, systems and methods according to at least some aspects ofthis invention will evaluate the determined flight time(s) to determineif they are potentially invalid and, if so, in at least some instances,correct the potentially invalid data or discard that data. Systems andmethods according to at least some examples of this invention also willinclude generating output, e.g., including information relating to orbased on one or more of the metrics described above, and transmittingthe output data and/or generating a user interface displaying at leastsome of the output/metrics in a human perceptible manner.

Other example systems and methods according to this aspect of theinvention may include: (a) a right foot sensor for measuringacceleration of a right shoe or contact force between a right shoe and acontact surface; (b) a left foot sensor for measuring acceleration of aleft shoe or contact force between a left shoe and a contact surface;(c) a processor system programmed and adapted to: (i) identify rightfoot launch events, left foot launch events, right foot strike events,and left foot strike events from data generated by the right foot sensorand the left foot sensor; (ii) identify a plurality of sets of eventtimestamps, wherein the sets of event timestamps include temporallyadjacent right foot launch, left foot launch, right foot strike, andleft foot strike events; and (iii) determine flight times associatedwith at least some of the plurality of sets of event timestamps, whereineach flight time is based at least in part on a time duration includedby a corresponding set of timestamps when both the left foot and theright foot are simultaneously not in contact with a surface; and (d) anoutput system for outputting output data including informationcontaining or derived from the flight times.

Systems and methods according to at least some aspects of this inventionmay include any, some, or all of the features or characteristicsdescribed below.

Systems and methods according to at least some aspects of this inventionfurther will include right foot sensor systems and left foot sensorsystems, e.g., for sensing, measuring, and detecting one or more of:acceleration; changes in acceleration; velocity of movement; changes invelocity; position; changes in position; contact force between a footand a contact surface; changes in contact force between the foot and acontact surface; etc.

In the step of determining the flight time for a set of timestamps, theflight time may be determined using the following equation:

Flight Time=T1−T2,

wherein T1 corresponds to a time of a timestamp from the set oftimestamps associated with an earlier of the right foot strike event orthe left foot strike event and T2 corresponds to a time of a timestampfrom the set of timestamps associated with a later of the right footlaunch event or the left foot launch event. To correspond to walking,jogging, running, or sprinting activities, the last foot to leave theground (corresponding to the T2 timestamp event) will be the oppositefoot from that to first contact the ground (corresponding to the T1 timeevent). For jumping activities (and potentially both vertical jumpingand running jumps), the feet may leave the ground and contact the groundin any order.

In at least some examples of systems and methods according to thisinvention, in the step of determining the flight time for a set oftimestamps: (a) the flight time associated with a set of timestamps willbe determined to be 0 if the timestamp associated with T1 is earlierthan the timestamp associated with T2; and/or (b) the flight timeassociated with a set of timestamps will be determined to be 0 if thedetermined flight time value is less than a threshold time duration(e.g., a short but positive “flight time” that may correspondessentially to walking activity, optionally walking with a little“bounce” in one's step).

At least some examples of systems and methods according to thisinvention will evaluate determined flight times for a set of timestampsto determine whether the flight time is “valid” for human activity. Asone example, in the step of determining the flight time for a set oftimestamps, the flight time associated with a set of timestamps may bedetermined to be 0 if the determined flight time value is greater than avalid flight time value (e.g., an upper threshold time limit set greaterthan possible for an individual to lose contact with the ground byjumping without some external assistance to suspend or support him/her).The “valid flight time value” may be set at a value for people ingeneral (e.g., corresponding to a time period near and/or just greaterthan a highest jump time ever recorded) or it may be set at a leveltargeted to an individual's previously determined abilities.

A determination that a determined flight time value exceeds a validflight time value does not automatically require a determination of a 0flight time for that set of timestamps in all systems and methodsaccording to this invention. Rather, if desired, systems and methodsaccording to at least some examples of this invention may consider datafrom other sources, such as other sensors (e.g., a body core sensor, avideo data stream, etc.), to determine whether a determined invalidflight time value can be “corrected.” For example, in basketball,sometimes a player will grasp the net or rim or will be held up byanother player and be “suspended” in the air for a time, which may causethe determined flight time value to exceed a “valid flight time value.”To handle such events (e.g., when the flight time value exceeds thevalid flight time value) and in an effort to provide more accurate“flight time” data, systems and methods according to at least someexamples of this invention may receive input data from a motion sensorsystem other than the right foot sensor and the left foot sensor system(e.g., a body core motion sensor or accelerometer, etc.), and using thatdata (and timestamp information associated with it) along with the setof timestamp data being evaluated, see if a “suspension time” can bedetermined from the motion sensor/accelerometer input data between: (i)a time of a timestamp associated with an earlier of the right footstrike event or the left foot strike event and (ii) a time of atimestamp associated with a later of the right foot launch event or theleft foot launch event. If a suspension time can be determined (e.g.,when the body core sensor or accelerometer shows the player to maintainan elevated height for an extended time period that defies gravity),systems and methods according to this aspect of the invention may:determine if a “corrected” time duration (e.g., corresponding to theinitially determined flight time value minus the suspension time) isless than a second valid flight time value (which may be the same as ordifferent from the initial valid flight time value used above) and (A)if so, determine the flight time for that set of timestamps based, atleast in part, on the “corrected” time duration (e.g., equal to the“corrected time duration”), and (B) if not, determine the flight timefor that set of timestamps to be 0. If desired, some systems and methodsmay determine if a “suspension time” can be found associated with anyset of timestamps, even timestamps that result in a valid determinedflight time, and use the “suspension time,” when present, to correcteven valid flight time values.

As another example, a determined flight time value could exceed a validflight time value when a player does not land on his/her feet after astep or jump (and thus, the next “foot strike” event may not occur untilthe player starts to gets up, which may extend the time period longerthan the valid flight time value). If a player is knocked down duringplay, they still should get credit for “flight time” associated withtheir activities, but that flight time should not be skewed to includethe time it takes to stand up. Systems and methods according to at leastsome examples of this invention also may determine and “correct” theflight time in at least some of these instances. Again, systems andmethods according to at least some examples of this invention mayconsider data from other sources, such as other sensors (e.g., a bodycore sensor, a video data stream, etc.), to determine whether a playerdid not land on his/her feet and whether a determined invalid flighttime value can be “corrected.” More specifically, if the flight timeassociated with a set of timestamps is determined to be greater than afirst valid flight time value, systems and methods according to at leastsome examples of this invention further may include: determining if aground contact time can be determined from the other sensor data (e.g.,an abrupt change in acceleration from a body core accelerometer sensor)between: (a) a time of a timestamp associated with an earlier of theright foot strike event or the left foot strike event and (b) a time ofa timestamp associated with a later of the right foot launch event orthe left foot launch event. If a potential ground contact time can bedetermined from this other data, the systems and methods may further:determine if a second time duration between the ground contact time fromthe other sensor data and the time of the timestamp associated with thelater of the right foot launch event or the left foot launch event isless than a second valid flight time value (which may be the same as ordifferent from the first valid flight time value) and (A) if so,determine the flight time for that set of timestamps based on (e.g.,corresponding to) the second time duration and (B) if not, determine theflight time for that set of timestamps to be 0.

As described above, “flight times” may be determined for one or more“sets” of timestamp data, and these “sets” of timestamp data may includeat least a set of four temporally adjacent right foot strike, left footstrike, right foot launch, and left foot launch events. Alternatively,the events of a set need not be temporally adjacent and/or limited tothe four noted events, but the right and left foot events of a set oftimestamp data may constitute all right and left foot launch and strikeevents that occur within a desired timeframe.

Additional aspects of this invention may involve determining “jumpheight” associated with one or more individual “flight time” eventsand/or a cumulative “jump height” associated with a plurality of “flighttime” events. While other algorithms and equations can be used fordetermining jump height based on a determined “flight time,” in at leastsome examples of systems and methods according to this invention, the“jump height” associated with flight time data will be determined fromthe equation:

Jump Height(inches)=(41.66708×Flight Time(seconds))−3.818335.

Jump height can be determined for each individual flight time and/oreach individual set of timestamp data. Additionally or alternatively, a“cumulative jump height” can be determined, e.g., based on thecumulative flight time (e.g., using the equation above) or by adding theindividually determined jump heights (e.g., using the equation above)for the individual flight times.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system that may be configured to providepersonal training and/or obtain data from the physical movements of auser in accordance with example embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example computer device that may be part of or incommunication with the system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative sensor assembly that may be worn by a userin accordance with example embodiments;

FIG. 4 shows another example sensor assembly that may be worn by a userin accordance with example embodiments;

FIG. 5 shows illustrative locations for sensory input that may includephysical sensors located on/in a user's clothing and/or be based uponidentification of relationships between two moving body parts of theuser;

FIG. 6 shows an example flowchart that may be implemented to computemetrics, including flight time;

FIG. 7 shows an example flowchart that describes various features andaspects of systems and methods according to at least some examples ofthis invention;

FIG. 8 shows a chart of two athlete's instantaneous flight time inaccordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 9 shows chart of two athlete's average flight time in accordancewith one embodiment;

FIG. 10 shows a chart of two athlete's cumulative flight time inaccordance with one embodiment; and

FIG. 11 shows a flowchart that may be implemented to determine jumpheight in accordance with one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of this disclosure involve obtaining, storing, and/or processingathletic data relating to the physical movements of an athlete. Theathletic data may be actively or passively sensed and/or stored in oneor more non-transitory storage mediums. Still further aspects relate tousing athletic data to generate an output, such as for example,calculated athletic attributes, feedback signals to provide guidance,and/or other information. These and other aspects will be discussed inthe context of the following illustrative examples of a personaltraining system.

In the following description of the various embodiments, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and inwhich is shown by way of illustration various embodiments in whichaspects of the disclosure may be practiced. It is to be understood thatother embodiments may be utilized and structural and functionalmodifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe present disclosure. Further, headings within this disclosure shouldnot be considered as limiting aspects of the disclosure and the exampleembodiments are not limited to the example headings.

I. Example Personal Training System

A. Illustrative Networks

Aspects of this disclosure relate to systems and methods that may beutilized across a plurality of networks. In this regard, certainembodiments may be configured to adapt to dynamic network environments.Further embodiments may be operable in differing discrete networkenvironments. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a personal trainingsystem 100 in accordance with example embodiments. Example system 100may include one or more interconnected networks, such as theillustrative body area network (BAN) 102, local area network (LAN) 104,and wide area network (WAN) 106. As shown in FIG. 1 (and describedthroughout this disclosure), one or more networks (e.g., BAN 102, LAN104, and/or WAN 106) may overlap or otherwise be inclusive of eachother. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the illustrativenetworks 102-106 are logical networks that may each comprise one or moredifferent communication protocols and/or network architectures and yetmay be configured to have gateways to each other or other networks. Forexample, each of BAN 102, LAN 104 and/or WAN 106 may be operativelyconnected to the same physical network architecture, such as cellularnetwork architecture 108 and/or WAN architecture 110. For example,portable electronic device 112, which may be considered a component ofboth BAN 102 and LAN 104, may comprise a network adapter or networkinterface card (NIC) configured to translate data and control signalsinto and from network messages according to one or more communicationprotocols, such as the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), the InternetProtocol (IP), and the User Datagram Protocol (UDP), through one or moreof architectures 108 and/or 110. These protocols are well known in theart, and thus will not be discussed here in more detail.

Network architectures 108 and 110 may include one or more informationdistribution network(s), of any type(s) or topology(s), alone or incombination(s), such as for example, cable, fiber, satellite, telephone,cellular, wireless, etc., and as such, may be variously configured suchas having one or more wired or wireless communication channels(including but not limited to: WiFi®, Bluetooth®, Near-FieldCommunication (NFC) and/or ANT technologies). Thus, any device within anetwork of FIG. 1 (such as portable electronic device 112 or any otherdevice described herein) may be considered inclusive to one or more ofthe different logical networks 102-106. With the foregoing in mind,example components of an illustrative BAN 102 and LAN 104 (which may becoupled to WAN 106) will be described.

1. Example Local Area Network

LAN 104 may include one or more electronic devices, such as computerdevice 114. Computer device 114, or any other component of system 100,may comprise a mobile terminal, such as a telephone, music player,tablet, netbook or any portable device. In other embodiments, computerdevice 114 may comprise a media player or recorder, desktop computer,server(s), a gaming console, such as for example, a Microsoft® XBOX,Sony® Playstation, and/or a Nintendo® Wii gaming consoles. Those skilledin the art, given benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that theseare merely example devices for descriptive purposes and this disclosureis not limited to any console or computing device.

Those skilled in the art, given benefit of this disclosure, willappreciate that the design and structure of computer device 114 may varydepending on several factors, such as its intended purpose. One exampleimplementation of computer device 114 is provided in FIG. 2, whichillustrates a block diagram of computing device 200. Those skilled inthe art will appreciate that the disclosure of FIG. 2 may be applicableto any device disclosed herein. Device 200 may include one or moreprocessors, such as processor 202-1 and 202-2 (generally referred toherein as “processors 202” or “processor 202”). Processors 202 maycommunicate with each other or other components via an interconnectionnetwork or bus 204. Processor 202 may include one or more processingcores, such as cores 206-1 (referred to herein as “cores 206” or moregenerally as “core 206”), which may be implemented on a singleintegrated circuit (IC) chip.

Cores 206 may comprise a shared cache 208 and/or a private cache (e.g.,caches 210-1). One or more caches 208/210 may locally cache data storedin a system memory, such as memory 212, for faster access by componentsof the processor 202. Memory 212 may be in communication with theprocessors 202 via a chipset 216. Cache 208 may be part of system memory212 in certain embodiments. Memory 212 may include, but is not limitedto, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), and may includeone or more of solid-state memory, optical or magnetic storage, and/orany other medium that can be used to store electronic information. Yetother embodiments may omit system memory 212.

System 200 may include one or more I/O devices (e.g., I/O devices 214-1,each generally referred to as I/O device 214). I/O data from one or moreI/O devices 214 may be stored at one or more caches 208, 210 and/orsystem memory 212. Each of I/O devices 214 may be permanently ortemporarily configured to be in operative communication with a componentof system 100 using any physical or wireless communication protocol.

Returning to FIG. 1, four example I/O devices (shown as elements116-122) are shown as being in communication with computer device 114.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of devices116-122 may be stand-alone devices or may be associated with anotherdevice besides computer device 114. For example, one or more I/O devicesmay be associated with or interact with a component of BAN 102 and/orWAN 106. I/O devices 116-122 may include, but are not limited to,athletic data acquisition units, such as for example, sensors. One ormore I/O devices may be configured to sense, detect, and/or measure anathletic parameter from a user, such as user 124. Examples include, butare not limited to: an accelerometer, a gyroscope, alocation-determining device (e.g., GPS), a light (including non-visiblelight) sensor, a temperature sensor (including ambient temperatureand/or body temperature), sleep pattern sensors, a heart rate monitor,an image-capturing sensor, a moisture sensor, a force sensor, a compass,an angular rate sensor, and/or combinations thereof, among others.

In further embodiments, I/O devices 116-122 may be used to provide anoutput (e.g., audible, visual, or tactile cue) and/or receive an input,such as a user input from athlete 124. Example uses for theseillustrative I/O devices are provided below, however, those skilled inthe art will appreciate, given benefit of this disclosure, that suchdiscussions are merely descriptive of some of the many options withinthe scope of this disclosure. Further, reference to any data acquisitionunit, I/O device, or sensor is to be interpreted as disclosing anembodiment that may have one or more I/O device, data acquisition unit,and/or sensor disclosed herein or known in the art (either individuallyor in combination).

Information from one or more devices (across one or more networks) maybe used to provide (or be utilized in the formation of) a variety ofdifferent parameters, metrics or physiological characteristics includingbut not limited to: motion parameters, such as speed, acceleration,distance, steps taken, direction, relative movement of certain bodyportions or objects to others, or other motion parameters which may beexpressed as angular rates, rectilinear rates or combinations thereof;physiological parameters, such as calories, heart rate, sweat detection,effort, oxygen consumed, and oxygen kinetics; and other metrics that mayfall within one or more categories, such as: pressure, impact forces,information regarding the athlete, such as height, weight, age, anddemographic information; and combinations thereof.

System 100 may be configured to transmit and/or receive athletic data,including the parameters, metrics, or physiological characteristicscollected within system 100 or otherwise provided to system 100. As oneexample, WAN 106 may comprise server 111. Server 111 may have one ormore components of system 200 of FIG. 2. In one embodiment, server 111comprises at least a processor and a memory, such as processor 206 andmemory 212. Server 111 may be configured to store computer-executableinstructions on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Theinstructions may comprise athletic data, such as raw or processed datacollected within system 100. System 100 may be configured to transmitdata, such as flight time, to a social networking website or host such asite. Server 111 may be utilized to permit one or more users to accessand/or compare athletic data. As such, server 111 may be configured totransmit and/or receive notifications based upon athletic data or otherinformation.

Returning to LAN 104, computer device 114 is shown in operativecommunication with a display device 116, an image-capturing device 118,sensor 120, and exercise device 122, which are discussed in turn belowwith reference to example embodiments. In one embodiment, display device116 may provide audio-visual cues to athlete 124 to perform a specificathletic movement. The audio-visual cues may be provided in response tocomputer-executable instruction executed on computer device 114 or anyother device, including a device of BAN 102 and/or WAN 106. Displaydevice 116 may be a touchscreen device or otherwise configured toreceive a user-input.

In one embodiment, data may be obtained from image-capturing device 118and/or other sensors, such as sensor 120, which may be used to detect(and/or measure) athletic parameters, either alone or in combinationwith other devices, or stored information. Image-capturing device 118and/or sensor 120 may comprise a transceiver device. In one embodimentsensor 128 may comprise an infrared (IR), electromagnetic (EM) oracoustic transceiver. For example, image-capturing device 118, and/orsensor 120 may transmit waveforms into the environment, including towardthe direction of athlete 124 and receive a “reflection” or otherwisedetect alterations of those released waveforms. Those skilled in the artwill readily appreciate that signals corresponding to a multitude ofdifferent data spectrums may be utilized in accordance with variousembodiments. In this regard, devices 118 and/or 120 may detect waveformsemitted from external sources (e.g., not system 100). For example,devices 118 and/or 120 may detect heat being emitted from user 124and/or the surrounding environment. Thus, image-capturing device 126and/or sensor 128 may comprise one or more thermal imaging devices. Inone embodiment, image-capturing device 126 and/or sensor 128 maycomprise an IR device configured to perform range phenomenology.

In one embodiment, exercise device 122 may be any device configurable topermit or facilitate the athlete 124 performing a physical movement,such as a treadmill, a step machine, etc. There is no requirement thatthe device be stationary. In this regard, wireless technologies permitportable devices to be utilized, thus a bicycle or other mobileexercising device may be utilized in accordance with certainembodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that equipment 122may be or comprise an interface for receiving an electronic devicecontaining athletic data performed remotely from computer device 114.For example, a user may use a sporting device (described below inrelation to BAN 102) and upon returning home or the location ofequipment 122, download athletic data into element 122 or any otherdevice of system 100. Any I/O device disclosed herein may be configuredto receive activity data.

2. Body Area Network

BAN 102 may include two or more devices configured to receive, transmit,or otherwise facilitate the collection of athletic data (includingpassive devices). Exemplary devices may include one or more dataacquisition units, sensors, or devices known in the art or disclosedherein, including but not limited to I/O devices 116-122. Two or morecomponents of BAN 102 may communicate directly, yet in otherembodiments, communication may be conducted via a third device, whichmay be part of BAN 102, LAN 104, and/or WAN 106. One or more componentsof LAN 104 or WAN 106 may form part of BAN 102. In certainimplementations, whether a device, such as portable device 112, is partof BAN 102, LAN 104, and/or WAN 106, may depend on the athlete'sproximity to an access point to permit communication with mobilecellular network architecture 108 and/or WAN architecture 110. Useractivity and/or preference may also influence whether one or morecomponents are utilized as part of BAN 102. Example embodiments areprovided below.

User 124 may be associated with (e.g., possess, carry, wear, and/orinteract with) any number of devices, such as portable device 112,shoe-mounted device 126, wrist-worn device 128 and/or a sensinglocation, such as sensing location 130, which may comprise a physicaldevice or a location that is used to collect information. One or moredevices 112, 126, 128, and/or 130 may not be specially designed forfitness or athletic purposes. Indeed, aspects of this disclosure relateto utilizing data from a plurality of devices, some of which are notfitness devices, to collect, detect, and/or measure athletic data. Incertain embodiments, one or more devices of BAN 102 (or any othernetwork) may comprise a fitness or sporting device that is specificallydesigned for a particular sporting use. As used herein, the term“sporting device” includes any physical object that may be used orimplicated during a specific sport or fitness activity. Exemplarysporting devices may include, but are not limited to: golf balls,basketballs, baseballs, soccer balls, footballs, powerballs, hockeypucks, weights, bats, clubs, sticks, paddles, mats, and combinationsthereof. In further embodiments, exemplary fitness devices may includeobjects within a sporting environment where a specific sport occurs,including the environment itself, such as a goal net, hoop, backboard,portions of a field, such as a midline, outer boundary marker, base, andcombinations thereof.

In this regard, those skilled in the art will appreciate that one ormore sporting devices may also be part of (or form) a structure andvice-versa, a structure may comprise one or more sporting devices or beconfigured to interact with a sporting device. For example, a firststructure may comprise a basketball hoop and a backboard, which may beremovable and replaced with a goal post. In this regard, one or moresporting devices may comprise one or more sensors, such as one or moreof the sensors discussed above in relation to FIGS. 1-3, that mayprovide information utilized, either independently or in conjunctionwith other sensors, such as one or more sensors associated with one ormore structures. For example, a backboard may comprise a first sensorconfigured to measure a force and a direction of the force by abasketball upon the backboard and the hoop may comprise a second sensorto detect a force. Similarly, a golf club may comprise a first sensorconfigured to detect grip attributes on the shaft and a second sensorconfigured to measure impact with a golf ball.

Looking to the illustrative portable device 112, it may be amulti-purpose electronic device, that, for example, includes a telephoneor digital music player, including an IPOD®, IPAD®, or iPhone®, branddevices available from Apple, Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. or Zune® orMicrosoft® Windows devices available from Microsoft of Redmond, Wash. Asknown in the art, digital media players can serve as an output device,input device, and/or storage device for a computer. Device 112 may beconfigured as an input device for receiving raw or processed datacollected from one or more devices in BAN 102, LAN 104, or WAN 106. Inone or more embodiments, portable device 112 may comprise one or morecomponents of computer device 114. For example, portable device 112 maybe include a display 116, image-capturing device 118, and/or one or moredata acquisition devices, such as any of the I/O devices 116-122discussed above, with or without additional components, so as tocomprise a mobile terminal.

a. Illustrative Apparel/Accessory Sensors

In certain embodiments, I/O devices may be formed within or otherwiseassociated with user's 124 clothing or accessories, including a watch,armband, wristband, necklace, shirt, shoe, or the like. These devicesmay be configured to monitor athletic movements of a user. It is to beunderstood that they may detect athletic movement during user's 124interactions with computer device 114 and/or operate independently ofcomputer device 114 (or any other device disclosed herein). For example,one or more devices in BAN 102 may be configured to function as anall-day activity monitor that measures activity regardless of the user'sproximity or interactions with computer device 114. It is to be furtherunderstood that the sensory system 302 shown in FIG. 3 and the deviceassembly 400 shown in FIG. 4, each of which are described in thefollowing paragraphs, are merely illustrative examples.

i. Shoe-Mounted Device

In certain embodiments, device 126 shown in FIG. 1, may comprisefootwear which may include one or more sensors, including but notlimited to those disclosed herein and/or known in the art. FIG. 3illustrates one example embodiment of a sensor system 302 providing oneor more sensor assemblies 304. Assembly 304 may comprise one or moresensors, such as an accelerometer, a gyroscope, location-determiningcomponents, force sensors and/or or any other sensor disclosed herein orknown in the art. In the illustrated embodiment, assembly 304incorporates a plurality of sensors, which may include force-sensitiveresistor (FSR) sensors 306; however, other sensor(s) may be utilized.Port 308 may be positioned within a sole structure 309 of a shoe, and isgenerally configured for communication with one or more electronicdevices. Port 308 optionally may be provided to be in communication withan electronic module 310, and the sole structure 309 optionally mayinclude a housing 311 or other structure to receive the module 310. Thesensor system 302 also may include a plurality of leads 312 connectingthe FSR sensors 306 to the port 308, to enable communication with themodule 310 and/or another electronic device through the port 308. Module310 may be contained within a well or cavity in a sole structure of ashoe, and the housing 311 may be positioned within the well or cavity.In one embodiment, at least one gyroscope and at least one accelerometerare provided within a single housing, such as module 310 and/or housing311. In at least a further embodiment, one or more sensors are providedthat, when operational, are configured to provide directionalinformation and angular rate data. The port 308 and the module 310include complementary interfaces 314, 316 for connection andcommunication.

In certain embodiments, at least one force-sensitive resistor 306 shownin FIG. 3 may contain first and second electrodes or electrical contacts318, 320 and a force-sensitive resistive material 322 disposed betweenthe electrodes 318, 320 to electrically connect the electrodes 318, 320together. When pressure is applied to the force-sensitive material 322,the resistivity and/or conductivity of the force-sensitive material 322changes, which changes the electrical potential between the electrodes318, 320. The change in resistance can be detected by the sensor system302 to detect the force applied on the sensor 316. The force-sensitiveresistive material 322 may change its resistance under pressure in avariety of ways. For example, the force-sensitive material 322 may havean internal resistance that decreases when the material is compressed.Further embodiments may utilize “volume-based resistance”, which may beimplemented through “smart materials.” As another example, the material322 may change the resistance by changing the degree ofsurface-to-surface contact, such as between two pieces of the forcesensitive material 322 or between the force sensitive material 322 andone or both electrodes 318, 320. In some circumstances, this type offorce-sensitive resistive behavior may be described as “contact-basedresistance.”

ii. Wrist-Worn Device

As shown in FIG. 4, device 400 (which may resemble or comprise sensorydevice 128 shown in FIG. 1), may be configured to be worn by user 124,such as around a wrist, arm, ankle, neck or the like. Device 400 mayinclude an input mechanism, such as a depressible input button 402configured to be used during operation of the device 400. The inputbutton 402 may be operably connected to a controller 404 and/or anyother electronic components, such as one or more of the elementsdiscussed in relation to computer device 114 shown in FIG. 1. Controller404 may be embedded or otherwise part of housing 406. Housing 406 may beformed of one or more materials, including elastomeric components andcomprise one or more displays, such as display 408. The display 408 maybe considered an illuminable portion of the device 400. The display 408may include a series of individual lighting elements or light memberssuch as LED lights 410. The lights may be formed in an array andoperably connected to the controller 404. Device 400 may include anindicator system 412, which may also be considered a portion orcomponent of the overall display 408. Indicator system 412 can operateand illuminate in conjunction with the display 408 (which may have pixelmember 414) or completely separate from the display 408. The indicatorsystem 412 may also include a plurality of additional lighting elementsor light members, which may also take the form of LED lights in anexemplary embodiment. In certain embodiments, indicator system mayprovide a visual indication of goals, such as by illuminating a portionof lighting members of indicator system 412 to represent accomplishmenttowards one or more goals. Device 400 may be configured to display dataexpressed in terms of activity points or currency earned by the userbased on the activity of the user, either through display 408 and/orindicator system 412.

A fastening mechanism 416 can be disengaged wherein the device 400 canbe positioned around a wrist or portion of the user 124 and thefastening mechanism 416 can be subsequently placed in an engagedposition. In one embodiment, fastening mechanism 416 may comprise aninterface, including but not limited to a USB port, for operativeinteraction with computer device 114 and/or devices, such as devices 120and/or 112. In certain embodiments, fastening member may comprise one ormore magnets. In one embodiment, fastening member may be devoid ofmoving parts and rely entirely on magnetic forces.

In certain embodiments, device 400 may comprise a sensor assembly (notshown in FIG. 4). The sensor assembly may comprise a plurality ofdifferent sensors, including those disclosed herein and/or known in theart. In an example embodiment, the sensor assembly may comprise orpermit operative connection to any sensor disclosed herein or known inthe art. Device 400 and or its sensor assembly may be configured toreceive data obtained from one or more external sensors.

iii. Apparel and/or Body Location Sensing

Element 130 of FIG. 1 shows an example sensory location which may beassociated with a physical apparatus, such as a sensor, data acquisitionunit, or other device. Yet in other embodiments, it may be a specificlocation of a body portion or region that is monitored, such as via animage capturing device (e.g., image capturing device 118). In certainembodiments, element 130 may comprise a sensor, such that elements 130 aand 130 b may be sensors integrated into apparel, such as athleticclothing. Such sensors may be placed at any desired location of the bodyof user 124. Sensors 130 a/b may communicate (e.g., wirelessly) with oneor more devices (including other sensors) of BAN 102, LAN 104, and/orWAN 106. In certain embodiments, passive sensing surfaces may reflectwaveforms, such as infrared light, emitted by image-capturing device 118and/or sensor 120. In one embodiment, passive sensors located on user's124 apparel may comprise generally spherical structures made of glass orother transparent or translucent surfaces which may reflect waveforms.Different classes of apparel may be utilized in which a given class ofapparel has specific sensors configured to be located proximate to aspecific portion of the user's 124 body when properly worn. For example,golf apparel may include one or more sensors positioned on the apparelin a first configuration and yet soccer apparel may include one or moresensors positioned on apparel in a second configuration.

FIG. 5 shows illustrative locations for sensory input (see, e.g.,sensory locations 130 a-130 o). In this regard, sensors may be physicalsensors located on/in a user's clothing, yet in other embodiments,sensor locations 130 a-130 o may be based upon identification ofrelationships between two moving body parts. For example, sensorlocation 130 a may be determined by identifying motions of user 124 withan image-capturing device, such as image-capturing device 118. Thus, incertain embodiments, a sensor may not physically be located at aspecific location (such as one or more of sensor locations 130 a-130 o),but is configured to sense properties of that location, such as withimage-capturing device 118 or other sensor data gathered from otherlocations. In this regard, the overall shape or portion of a user's bodymay permit identification of certain body parts. Regardless of whetheran image-capturing device is utilized and/or a physical sensor locatedon the user 124, and/or using data from other devices, (such as sensorysystem 302), device assembly 400 and/or any other device or sensordisclosed herein or known in the art is utilized, the sensors may sensea current location of a body part and/or track movement of the bodypart. In one embodiment, sensory data relating to location 130 m may beutilized in a determination of the user's center of gravity (a.k.a,center of mass). For example, relationships between location 130 a andlocation(s) 130 f/130 l with respect to one or more of location(s) 130m-130 o may be utilized to determine if a user's center of gravity hasbeen elevated along the vertical axis (such as during a jump) or if auser is attempting to “fake” a jump by bending and flexing their knees.In one embodiment, sensor location 130 n may be located at about thesternum of user 124. Likewise, sensor location 130 o may be locatedapproximate to the naval of user 124. In certain embodiments, data fromsensor locations 130 m-130 o may be utilized (alone or in combinationwith other data) to determine the center of gravity for user 124. Infurther embodiments, relationships between multiple sensor locations,such as sensors 130 m-130 o, may be utilized in determining orientationof the user 124 and/or rotational forces, such as twisting of user's 124torso. Further, one or more locations, such as location(s), may beutilized as (or approximate) a center of moment location. For example,in one embodiment, one or more of location(s) 130 m-130 o may serve as apoint for a center of moment location of user 124. In anotherembodiment, one or more locations may serve as a center of moment ofspecific body parts or regions.

Example Metrics Calculations

Aspects of this disclosure relate to systems and methods that may beutilized to calculate one or more activity metrics of an athlete,including but not limited to steps, flight time, speed, distance, pace,power, and/or others. The calculations may be performed in real time,such that the user may obtain real-time feedback during one or moreactivities. In certain embodiments, all calculations for a plurality ofmetrics may be estimated using a same set of attributes, or a sub-set ofattributes from a common group of attributes, and the like. In oneembodiment, a calculation of flight time may be performed on a first setof attributes and with or without classifying the activity beingperformed by the athlete, such as being walking, running, playing aspecific sport, or conducting a specific activity. In one embodiment,determinations of flight time may be performed with or without anyactivity type templates, such that as the flight time may be calculatedfrom sensor data and/or derivatives thereof, without classifying theactivity type. For example, flight time may be calculated in accordancewith certain embodiments using the same set of attributes regardless ofwhether the athlete is performing a first activity or a second activity,such as for example, walking or playing soccer or basketball.

In certain implementations, calculations of flight time may be performedusing a first set of attributes and another metric, such as jump heightand/or speed, may be determined from the same set of attributes or asubset of the same attributes. In one embodiment, determination of aplurality of metrics may be conducted using a selection of coreattributes. In one example, this attribute calculation may be used toestimate flight time and/or a jump height and/or speed of the user. Inone more specific example, a flight time and/or speed may be estimatedusing a same set of attributes, or a sub-set of attributes from a commongroup of attributes, and the like.

The systems and methods described herein may compare calculatedattributes from activity data (real-time activity data, and the like) toone or more models wherein the one or more models may not include datacaptured for the activity type that the athlete performed (and may notbe categorized, such as for flight time calculations). In this way, theone or more models may be agnostic to the specific activity beingperformed by a user. For example, an activity device may receiveinformation from a user performing a basketball activity and at leastone model may not contain any data from basketball activities.

As an example of calculating multiple metrics, systems and methods maybe implemented to determine whether to calculate speed for one or moretime windows of data. Certain aspects of this disclosure relate todeterminations of speed or distance that comprises categorizing athleticdata. As discussed above, however, other aspects relate to calculatingflight time values without categorizing the athletic data into activitytypes (walking, running, basketball, sprinting, soccer, football, etc.),however, categorizing at least a portion of the same data utilized tocalculate flight time for the calculation of other metrics, such as forexample, speed and/or distance is within the scope of this disclosure.In one implementation, speed (or another metric) may be determined fromat least a portion of data derived from the determination of flight timevalues. In accordance with certain embodiments, the attributes arecalculated on a single device, such as any device disclosed herein orknown in the art. In one embodiment, the attributes and calculation ofthe metrics are calculated on a single device. In one such example, adevice configured to be worn on an appendage of a user may be configuredto receive sensor data and calculate the attributes and a plurality ofmetrics from the attributes. In one embodiment, the single devicecomprises at least one sensor configured capture data utilized tocalculate at least one attribute. In accordance with certainembodiments, the attributes are calculated from one or more sensorslocated on the single device.

Example Calculations

One or more of the systems and methods described herein may calculate anestimate of flight time that implements at least one of the componentsof FIG. 6. In one configuration, a device, such as device 112, 126, 128,130, and/or 400 may capture data associated with one or more activitiesbeing performed by a user, and may include one or more sensors,including, but not limited to: an accelerometer, a gyroscope, alocation-determining device (e.g., GPS), a light sensor, a temperaturesensor (including ambient temperature and/or body temperature), a heartrate monitor, an image-capturing sensor, a moisture sensor and/orcombinations thereof. This captured activity data may, in turn, be usedto calculate one or more flight time values associated with the user.

In another example, the systems and methods described herein may beimplemented to estimate one or more metrics from sensor data. Thesemetrics may include, among others, an estimation of flight time, anestimation as to whether a user is running, walking, or performing otheractivity, and/or an estimation of a speed and a distance (a pace) whicha user is moving, and the like. For example, block 607 of flowchart 600from FIG. 6 shows an example implementation of calculating flight timefrom one or more attributes. Separately, block 603 is directed to anexample implementation for calculating speed, which may be determinedusing one or more calculated attributes, which may be derived from thesame sensors, from the same data, and/or the same attributes as theflight time metric.

Accordingly, the systems and methods described herein may utilize datareceived from one or more different sensor types, including, amongothers, an accelerometer, a heart rate sensor, a gyroscope, alocation-determining device (e.g., GPS), a light (including non-visiblelight) sensor, a temperature sensor (including ambient temperatureand/or body temperature), sleep pattern sensors, an image-capturingsensor, a moisture sensor, a force sensor, a compass, an angular ratesensor, and/or combinations thereof.

Furthermore, while the example of attributes associated withacceleration data output from an accelerometer sensor are described,those of ordinary skill will appreciate, given benefit of thisdisclosure, that other sensors may be used, alone or in combination withother sensors and devices, without departing from the scope of thisdisclosure. For example, a heart rate monitor may be used, wherein thedata output from a heart rate monitor may output data representative ofa heart rate in units of beats per minute (BPM) or equivalent.Accordingly, one or more transformations may be performed on outputtedheart rate data to interpolate a heart rate signal between heart ratedata points, and allowing for signal dropouts at certain points.Furthermore, the attributes calculated for sensor data associated with aheart rate monitor, or any other sensor, may be the same, or may bedifferent to those described above in relation to accelerometer data.

In another implementation, the systems and methods described herein mayanalyze sensor data from combinations of sensors. For example, a devicemay receive information related to motion of two or more appendages of auser (from one or more accelerometers, and the like). In one example,the device may determine that accelerometer data may indicate that saiduser could not have been “in-flight” above a certain time period.

In certain embodiments, all sensor data comes from a unitary device. Inone example, the unitary device is an appendage-worn device. In certainconfigurations, the appendage worn device comprises at least one of anaccelerometer, a location-determining sensor (e.g., GPS), a force sensorand a heart rate monitor. The unitary device may comprise a sensorconfigured to be placed on or within athletic apparel, such as a shoe.In yet another example, a sensor from at least two different devices isutilized to collect the data. In at least one embodiment, the devicecomprising a sensor utilized to capture data is also configured toprovide an output of flight time. In one embodiment, the device (oranother device) comprises a display device configured to display anoutput relating to flight time. In further embodiments, the device maycomprise a communication element configured to transmit informationrelating to flight time to a remote device.

In another implementation, one or more attributes may be calculated fromreceived sensor data and used as inputs to one or more walking and/orrunning models for predicting, among others, a speed/pace of a user.Further details of such an implementation are described in relation toblock 603 of flowchart 600.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an exemplary implementation of attributecalculation. In one example, this attribute calculation may be used toestimate one or more metrics associated with an activity being performedby a user, wherein this estimation may include airtime, jump height,energy expenditure, speed, and/or one or more other metrics.

Examples herein may be explained in relation to example metrics, such asairtime, however, other metrics are not excluded unless expresslywritten herein. In this regard, embodiments of the disclosed innovationrelate to systems and methods that detect, measure, and/or reportairtime in new and non-obvious ways when compared to the prior art.Previous attempts to incorporate airtime as a metric merely focused onflight of one or both feet in the context of jumps. For example, withreference to basketball players, prior attempts may have considered anoffensive player making a jump shot or a defensive player attempting tojump up to block the shot of the offensive player to determine flighttime. As would therefore be expected, such results would be highlycorrelated to total jumps during the same time period.

In accordance with various embodiments, airtime calculations are notlimited to instances in which it is determined the athlete has jumped(or is jumping). Certain embodiments may calculate airtime for instancesin which at least two feet are simultaneously not contacting the groundor surface. Determinations of airtime may, therefore, comprisecalculating airtime for instance of side jumps/shifts (like lateralshuffling when guarding an opponent in basketball,) as well as duringinstances of running, jogging, sprinting, and/or similar movements. Incertain embodiments, a movement (e.g., a walk) where 2 feet neversimultaneously leave the ground may not be included.

In certain embodiments as generally described above, metricdeterminations may not be limited to calculations from two-footed jumps,in which both feet leave the surface at substantially the same time.Such jumps are often observed, for example, by basketball players whiletaking a shot and/or blocking a shot. In other embodiments, airtimecalculations are not limited to any form of a jump, inclusive oftwo-footed jumps as well as one-footed jumps—in which one foot leavesthe ground in advance of the other (such as, for example, whenattempting a layup in a basketball game).

Further aspects of this invention relate to calculating airtime fromflights of one or more feet during one or more of: running or jogging.Certain embodiments may classify the activity.

Information related to the movement of the user may be outputted as oneor more data signals from one or more sensors associated with one ormore sensor devices monitoring the user. In one implementation, FIG. 6represents one or more processes carried out by at least one processor,such as processor unit 202, which may be associated with a sensordevice, such as, among others, device 112, 126, 128, 130, and/or 400. Inone implementation, one or more sensor devices may monitor one or moremotions associated with one or more activities being performed by auser. In one embodiment, footwear, such as that shown in FIG. 3 may beutilized to capture at least a portion of the data utilized to detectwhen at least one foot left the ground or surface (e.g., launch), whenat least one foot returned to the surface (e.g., strike) or otherattributes. Various embodiments of footwear may have at least oneaccelerometer and/or at least one force sensor.

In some performance monitoring systems and methods, devices may notdirectly monitor a volume of oxygen being consumed by a user during anactivity. Although oxygen consumption and/or caloric burn may be usefulin some instances to measure performance or fatigue, many currentsystems may not accurately measure the user's performance or fatigue,e.g., due to natural variations between two athletes (including but notlimited to size, weight, sex, abilities, etc.). An athlete may expendcalories; however, it may not translate into adequate performance. Forexample, a defensive basketball player may expend a lot of calorieswaving their arms trying to block an offensive player, however, if theyare not quick on their feet, and/or move with responsiveness, thatcaloric expenditure may not translate into an accurate performancemetric. In one arrangement, however, received activity data may becorrelated with observed oxygen consumption values for activities thatmay exhibit certain attributes, and associated with one or more oxygenconsumption models.

One or more embodiments may receive sensor data from one or more sensors(see, e.g., block 602). In certain embodiments, the sensor data may beassociated with a device worn by a user. In one example, and aspreviously described, said device may be, among others, device 112, 126,128, 130, and/or 400. Accordingly, the sensor data may be received by aprocessor, such as processor 202 from FIG. 2, and may be received fromone or more sensors described herein and/or known in the art. In oneimplementation, sensor data may be received at block 602 from anaccelerometer located on or within footwear or otherwise at a locationproximate to the athlete's foot.

In one implementation employing an accelerometer, an output of anaccelerometer sensor may include an acceleration value for each of threeaxes (x-, y-, and z-axis). Accordingly, in one implementation, aplurality of acceleration values associated with the respective axes towhich an accelerometer sensor is sensitive (x-, y-, and z-axis) may begrouped as a single acceleration data point.

In accordance with various embodiments, time stamped data (a.k.a.“timestamps” herein) may be received directly or indirectly from thesensor(s) and/or processed (e.g. block 606). Various embodiments mayreceive or calculate one or more timestamps or sensor attributes, suchas but not limited to one or more of the following: a foot striketimestamp, a left foot strike timestamp, a right foot strike timestamp,a launch timestamp, a left foot launch time stamp, a right foot launchtimestamp, derived timestamps, such as but not limited to: a left footlaunch Z-axis (vertical axis with respect to the surface the user haslaunched from and/or the Earth's surface) derivative max timestamp,and/or a right foot launch Z-axis derivative max timestamp.

As one example, accelerometer data may be received at a frequency of,among others, 25 Hz. Additionally or alternatively, sensor data may bereceived from the sensor, such as accelerometer, in windows of timeintervals. In one embodiment, the window (or time frame) may be about 1,2, 3, 4 or 5 seconds in length. A window may be a period of time duringwhich sensor data is recorded for one or more motions of a userassociated with one or more activities being performed by a user. In oneimplementation, a sample window may include 128 samples (data points) ofsensor data, wherein a sample of sensor data may include a value foreach of three orthogonal axes of an accelerometer (x-axis, y-axis, andz-axis), and/or a vector normal value. In yet another implementation,sensor data received from, in one implementation, an accelerometer, maybe received in windows that do not overlap and received singly, ratherthan simultaneously, and/or discrete from each other.

However, in alternative embodiments, those of ordinary skill willreadily understand, given benefit of this disclosure, that the systemsand methods described herein may be employed with any frequency ofoperation of an accelerometer, with a window length measuring any lengthof time, and using any number of samples of sensor data from within agiven window. Data may be validated as it is received, such as, forexample, at block 604. Data validation may include, among others, acomparison of one or more values of received sensor data to one or morethreshold values, and the like. Embodiments may compare one or morestrike times against launch times to filter out erroneous data. Furtheraspects of this disclosure relate to calculating one or more attributesfrom the data (see, e.g., block 606). Calculation of one or moreattributes may occur before, during or after validation protocols. Inone implementation, one or more attributes may be calculated for one ormore of the received samples in a sample window (e.g., the 128 samplewindow described above). Attribute calculation may occur in real-time asthe data is collected.

As discussed above, derived data, such as a launch z-axis derivative maxtimestamp, may be calculated. One or more calculated and/or rawattributes may be utilized to determine whether the athlete is running,jogging, conducting a sidestep, a jump, and/or performing anotheraction—which may or may not be classified. In one embodiment, data maybe used to determine whether the athlete is walking (which according toat least some embodiments would not be used in the calculation ofairtime), whether a jump was initiated with a specific foot, whether thejump was a single or double-footed jump, and/or other information. Inthis regard, certain embodiments may compare one or more calculatedattributes associated with data received from one or more sensors, andindicative of one or more activities being performed by a user, to oneor more attributes associated with one or more models. In one example,one or more attributes may be utilized to calculate flight time (e.g.,block 607). In this regard, although block 603 is shown below block 607with respect to flowchart 600, certain embodiments may classify motions,such as being walking, running, jumping, etc., before determining theflight times. In this regard, block 603 may be a precursor to block 607

In accordance with one embodiment, it may be determined the relativetiming of the athlete's feet leaving the surface being traversed by theathlete (launch) and/or which foot left the surface first or last sincea relative time point, such as a previous last foot strike or specificfoot strike. The determination may be based upon timestamps indicatingthe launch of each foot. Certain embodiments may determine a launch timefor the last foot determined to leave the surface (a.k.a., the launchfoot), as the maximum z-derivative. In various embodiments, a time stampof the last foot to leave the ground (or have a threshold level ofmovement along an axis—e.g., the vertical axis) may be used as thebeginning point to determine flight. Yet other embodiments may use othertimestamps, such as when the first foot left the ground. For example,upon determining, such as from timestamps, that both feet were off theground during a time frame, the first timestamp may be used to calculateairtime. In certain embodiments, the initiation point for airtime may bedependent on a type of activity, such as whether the user was running,jogging, jumping, side-stepping, etc.

In one example, one or more data points received from a sensor areaggregated into a dataset representative of one or more motions of user.Accordingly, the one or more data points may be processed to representthe data in a way that allows for one or more trends and/or metrics tobe extracted from the data. In one example, acceleration data outputfrom an accelerometer may be processed (transformed) to calculate avector normal (“vector norm”). Additional or alternative transformationsmay be employed to calculate, in one example, a standard deviation ofthe vector normal, a derivative of the vector normal, and/or a FastFourier Transform (FFT) of the vector normal. Those skilled in the artwill appreciate, given benefit of this disclosure, that certaintransformations may combine sensor data from two or more sensors and/orwith other data, such as biographical data (e.g., height, age, weight,etc.). In other embodiments, transformation may only utilize data fromsingle sensors, such that sensor data from multiple sensors is notmixed.

In this regard, aspects of this disclosure are directed toward using oneor more attributes utilized in the determination of airtime to determineother attributes. Sensor data, raw or processed may be compared to oneor more models (see e.g., block 608).

In certain embodiments, total, immediate and/or average flight times maybe determined. In this regard, aspects relate to measuring athleticability or other information based upon flight time. For example, anathlete's average flight time (which may include airtime from walkingand/or running) may be an indicator of athletic performance. Certainembodiments relate to determining flight time, such as the flight timeduring a unit of time (e.g., what is the average flight time during aminute of a game or athletic performance). For example, as shown in FIG.7, an athlete may average 200 milliseconds per “flight” (“instantaneousflight time”) in the first minute of a game and 150 milliseconds perflight another minute of the same game or performance. Flight times maybe considered irrespective of “height” for example, a user may have aseries of small flights during their blocking or running and thusexhibit more flight time than another player who jumped several timesand/or had higher jumps.

In another embodiment, average flight time as a function of time, suchas average flight time (e.g., in milliseconds/sec) of a game or athleticperformance may be determined (see, e.g., FIG. 8). For example, theaverage flight time (especially as more time passes during anevent/game) may converge to represent the time in flight as comparedwith the time not in flight. Likewise, total or cumulative flight timemay represent the total time in flight during a game or performance(See, e.g., FIG. 9).

Such information is an improvement over the prior art as airtimecalculations according to various embodiments disclosed herein may bebeneficial in training regimes. For example, a quantity of airtimewithin a certain time frame may be used to determine the user's level ofexertion as compared to their maximum, either theoretically, apreference, or past collected data. Likewise, this information may beused to gauge one athlete's performance and/or abilities against anotherplayer's abilities, even another player performing the same position,and/or it may be used to gauge one athlete's performance at differentpositions (e.g., forward vs. center), as well as their “rate offatigue.” In this regard, total movements or caloric expenditure may notaccurately measure the user's fatigue, ability, and/or currentperformance or rate of decline. In certain embodiments, forcemeasurements, such as launch and/or strike forces may be used inconjunction with airtime determinations.

Flight time attributes may be used as inputs to one or more of, amongothers, models for estimation of a number of steps (during walking,which may not be considered in calculations of airtime), strides (duringrunning), or other movements by a user, and/or models for estimation ofspeed and distance (pace) of a user (see e.g., block 603 of flowchart600). Furthermore, as will be apparent from FIG. 6, one or morecalculated attributes may be used as inputs to one or more models suchthat, in one example, a model for estimation of flight time may beexecuted separately from a model for calculation of airtime, a steprate, a walking speed, and/or a running speed, and the like. Forexample, an activity device may receive information from a userperforming a basketball activity. In response, the device may processthe received basketball activity data (such as, for example, block 606of flowchart 600), and compare calculated attributes to one or moremodels or otherwise conduct further analysis in addition to air time. Asone example, a determination to accumulate airtime, such as part of thecalculations of block 607 may lead to a determination of whether a jumpoccurred, and if so, jump height may be determined (such as, forexample, block 608). In accordance with one embodiment, determination ofjump height and/or other metrics that may be related to jump height maybe performed, at least in part, by comparing one or more of the dataattributes used in the calculation of airtime against one or moremodels. As previously described, one or more models may be stored in amemory, such as memory 212, and the like, and associated with a device,including a sensor device.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of calculating jump height according to oneembodiment. Flight time may be used in a linear regression to determinejump height.

As discussed above, one or more attributes calculated (including, e.g.,at block 606) may be used in a determination of whether sensor data isindicative of walking, running, or another activity being performed by auser, and additionally or alternatively, the speed at which the user iswalking or running, and the like. Accordingly, one or more attributescalculated at block 606 may be used as inputs to block 603. Inparticular, one or more attributes may be communicated from block 606 todecision block 616. At block 616, one or more processes may be executedto determine whether a user is running or walking, or performing anotheractivity. If it is determined that a user is performing an activityother than running or walking, the process proceeds from block 616 to618, at which no speed is defined. Accordingly, for a user performingactivity other than running or walking, no processes are executed todefine the speed at which the user is traveling, and the like. If it isdetermined, at decision 616, that's the user is running or walking,decision 620 may be implemented to determine whether the activity iswalking or running Example embodiments for selecting an activity, suchas running or walking, are provided herein. In one embodiment, if it isdetermined that a user is running, one or more attributes may becommunicated to a running model, such as to determine speed (e.g., seeblock 622). If, however, it is determined that a user is walking,certain embodiments may communicate one or more attributes to a walkingmodel, such as to determined speed (e.g., block 624). Results from dataprocessing by these models may be used, e.g., at steps 607, 608.

A more detailed description of FIGS. 7-11 and potential features thereofis provided below.

As described above, aspects of this invention can be used to determine“flight time.” FIG. 7 includes a flowchart describing one such examplesystem and method.

The process of FIG. 7 starts with a data set that includes datacollected, e.g., from footwear based sensors, including at least someright foot launch, right foot strike, left foot launch, and left footstrike data (e.g., collected from one or more sensors provided in anarticle of footwear, such as force or accelerometer based sensor data,like that described in conjunction with FIG. 3). In Step 2102, thisexample system and method may synchronize the sensor events registeredby the two shoe based sensor systems, if necessary, e.g., to account fordeviations in sensor clocks and/or transmission times. In particulararrangements, the systems and methods may measure the requiredtransmission time between each of the sensors and the activityprocessing system and subsequently use the measured transmission time toadjust a time associated with each of the detected sensor events.Additionally or alternatively, synchronization may include temporallysorting the events received. In some examples, the foot strike and footlaunch event data might not be received in an order in which the eventswere detected. Accordingly, the system and method may pre-process theevent data to order the events according to the time at which they weredetected. As another potential feature (in addition to or in place ofany of those described above), as use of the system and method begin(e.g., when a “start” button or function is initiated, when the playerregisters to go into the game, etc.), at Step 2102 the clocks in and/orassociated with each shoe may be synchronized to the same time (e.g., a“0” starting time).

Once the sensors synchronized and/or otherwise are ready to go, at Step2104, the system and method may initiate measurements and registrationof events by the sensors in each shoe (e.g., initiate determination of“foot strike” or “foot on” events and initiate determination of “footlaunch” or “foot off” events), and this “foot strike/foot launch” datais received at Step 2106.

As or after the foot strike/foot launch data is received, at Step 2108,the data may be sorted based on the time it was generated (e.g., basedon the “timestamps” associated with and included in the data for eachfoot strike and foot launch event). Therefore, incoming data from theshoe based sensors may include one of more the following types ofinformation: (a) identification of the sensor generating the data (e.g.,right shoe, left shoe, a particular sensor on the shoe (if multiplesensors are present), etc.), (b) timestamp information (e.g., when thedata was measured), (c) type of event (e.g., launch or strike), (d)other data associated with the measurement (e.g., landing force, landingacceleration, launch acceleration, etc.), etc. Based on the informationcontained in the data stream, in Step 2110, the “start” and “end”timestamps for “flight times” (e.g., corresponding pairs of consecutive“Foot A launch” and “Foot B strike” events and pairs of consecutive“Foot B launch” and “Foot A strike” events, pairs of “Foot A strike” and“Foot A launch” events, pairs of “Foot B strike” and “Foot B launch”events, etc.). These start and end timestamps for the consecutive pairsof launch and strike events may be used to determine “flight time”associated with the flight events at Step 2112.

Once flight times for each desired flight event are determined,validation checks can be performed at Steps 2114-2118 todetermine/confirm whether the “flight” data represents a legitimate jumpand/or if desired, “flight time” associated with running, jogging,sprinting, or the like. As some more specific examples, one potentialvalidation check may be determining whether the determined “flight time”(from the event timestamps) is longer than humanly possible toconstitute flight from an actual “jump” or “run” activity. For example,if the timestamp data stream indicates that the player has been up inthe air for several seconds, this “flight time” might be determined tonot constitute a jump or jump (e.g., answer “no” at Step 2116), in whichcase, the “flight time” for that pair of foot launch and foot strikeevents may be set to 0 (Step 2118).

A long flight time, however, does not necessarily compel a determinationthat the data is faulty and/or that the noted activity did notconstitute a “jump” or true “flight time” (optionally including “flighttime” associated with running, jogging, and/or sprinting activities).Rather, systems and methods according to at least some examples of thisinvention may further analyze data that indicates that an excessivelylong “flight time” occurred (or optionally all flight time data). Forexample, in some instances when playing basketball, a player mightprolong a “flight time” by grasping and holding onto the rim or netand/or by not landing on his/her feet (e.g., landing on one's back,knees, elbows, etc.). Therefore, rather than automatically throwing outdata indicating a flight time longer than a predetermined thresholdvalue, data and/or information from other sensors and/or sources couldbe consulted to see if a more accurate picture can be developed of whathappened during the long flight time in question. For example, if theplayer grabbed onto the rim, the foot and/or body based sensors mayregister the initial lift off, a “hanging” in mid-air phase (when therim or net is grabbed) or even a second lift phase (if the player pullshimself further upward using the rim/net), followed by a downwardmovement phase. As another option, a wrist borne sensor may be used todetect prolonged close proximity to the rim during a time when both feetare off the ground. Video data also may be consulted to determinewhether a specific flight event is legitimate or fully legitimate. Ifsuch legitimate flight events are detected or determined, then at Step2118, rather than setting the flight time to 0 for that event, theflight time could be adjusted, e.g., to count “flight time” only as the“up” and “down” time associated with that jump or other flight event(and to not add in the additional time when the player swung from therim or net, further propelled himself/herself upward using the rim ornet, etc. as part of the flight time for that event).

In an event where the player lands off his feet, a body based sensor (oran accelerometer included with the shoe based sensors) may detect anabrupt change in velocity and/or acceleration when the player lands onthe floor. If such events are detected, then at Step 2118, rather thansetting the flight event time to 0 for that event, the time could beadjusted, e.g., to count “flight time” as the time between the last“foot launch” event and the following on-floor landing event by a bodypart other than a foot.

Once the flight times are determined as valid (answer “yes” in Step2116), determined as invalid and set to 0 (Step 2118), and/or adjusted(in the alternatives for Step 2118 discussed above), at Step 2120, thedata in the flight time buffer memory can be updated (e.g., with updateddeterminations of average flight time or cumulative/total flight time,etc.) and/or other desired data may be generated and/or other metricsmay be determined. If more data remains available for evaluation, thesystem and method can loop back (loop 2122) to Step 2106 and analyze thenext timestamp data set and/or any available additional data. At anydesired or appropriate time in the process (e.g., including before loop2122 occurs), flight time data and/or other feedback, metrics, and/orinformation can be made available to the player, the coach, and/or anyother designated party (Step 2124). Additionally or alternatively, atStep 2124, coaching and/or training information may be presented to theuser, e.g., in the form of workout plans, workout drills, playing tipsor advice, etc.

Information relating to “flight time” and/or any desired parametersand/or metrics may be provided to the user in a variety of ways,including the various ways described above. FIGS. 8-10 provide someexample displays and/or user interfaces (e.g., for display screens oncomputers, smart phones, etc.) that may provide feedback and/orinformation to users in accordance with at least some examples of thisinvention. As described above, values associated with a determination of“flight time” for individual flight events (e.g., time betweenconsecutive foot landing and prior foot launch events) may be addedtogether (e.g., in a flight time buffer memory) or the buffer mayotherwise be updated based upon the measured/detected flight times(e.g., blocks 1050 b, 1180, 2120). This data may be used in variousways.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, one user interface screen 2200 mayillustrate one or more players' “instantaneous flight time” (inmilliseconds), per flight, over the course of his/her playing time inthe game (minutes of game play). In the example of FIG. 8, theperformances of two players are shown overlapping to enable comparisonof their performances (these performances do not need to have takenplace at the same time, in the same game, and/or at the same location).In the illustrated example of FIG. 8, it can be seen that while bothPlayer's instantaneous performances (e.g., average flight time perflight) followed similar trends, particularly at a start, Player B'sflight time performance, however, tailed off dramatically at the end ascompared to Player A's performance (e.g., after about 8 minutes ofplaying time).

FIG. 9 illustrates an example user interface screen 2300 that shows oneor more players' “average flight time” (in milliseconds/second) over thecourse of his/her playing time in the game (minutes of game play). Inthe example of FIG. 9, the performances of two players again are shownoverlapping to enable comparison of their performances (again, theseperformances do not need to have taken place at the same time, in thesame game, and/or at the same location). In the illustrated example ofFIG. 9, it can be seen that while Player B's average flight time was alittle higher than Player A when his/her play started (e.g., inside thefirst two minutes), Player A maintained a higher flight time over thefull course of his/her play. The “average flight time” (especially asmore time passes during an event/game) may converge or flatten out (asshown in FIG. 9) and may be considered as a representation of a player's“time in flight” as compared with the time not in flight (e.g., timespent running or jumping as compared to time not running or jumping).

FIG. 10 shows an example user interface screen 2400 that providesanother interesting metric and information in accordance with at leastsome examples of this invention. More specifically, FIG. 10 shows“cumulative flight time” (in seconds) for one or more individual playersover the course of their playing time in the game. In this illustratedexample, Player A shows a relatively constant, steady accumulation of“flight time” over the course of his/her playing time whereas Player B'sperformance curtailed off more quickly and resulted in substantiallyless overall flight time.

These metrics and comparisons (e.g., from FIGS. 8-10) provide valuableinformation to the player or coach as they compare players, compareplayer fitness/performance levels, compare individual player performancechanges over time (e.g., the Player A and Player B curves may representone player's performance at different times) and/or develop training andpractice sessions for the player(s). Additionally or alternatively, ifdesired, players could allow others to view their “flight time” data anduse this information (e.g., in social networks) to create groups offriends, challenges, and/or other games and activities that will tend tomotivate players to compete, strive to get better, and play harder.These types of interactions, comparisons, and challenges with othersalso can help set goals and/or avoid boredom.

Other metrics and options are possible without departing from thisinvention. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, systems and methodsaccording to at least some examples of this invention may create,determine, and maintain a jump “height” metric for players. Morespecifically, FIG. 11 describes information that may be utilized in a“Jump Height” determining algorithm to determine “jump height”associated with any desired “flight time” event. As shown, the jumpheight algorithm may take as input data 2502 one or more of: left footstrike timestamp; right foot strike timestamp; left foot launchtimestamp; right foot launch timestamp; left foot launch data in the Z(vertical) direction (e.g., Z derivative max, to get upwardly directedforce information); and right foot launch data in the Z (vertical)direction (e.g., Z derivative max, to get upwardly directed forceinformation). At Step 2504, the foot sensor data is reviewed todetermine the last foot to launch so that both feet are indicated asbeing up in the air, and the timestamp associated with that foot'slaunch is used as the timestamp of the maximum Z-derivative for thatfoot and that event. Then, at Step 2506, the strike times for each footare compared to the launch times for each foot to determine the overallstrike time (when the first foot strike occurs). If it is determinedthat either foot strike event occurs before the last foot launched, thedata is filtered out (and no “jump height” is determined based on thatdata set). Once valid “flight event” data is determined (e.g., the timebetween the last foot launch time, with both feet in the art, and thefirst foot strike time) for a data set, the “jump height” for that dataset is determined based on the flight time (Step 2508). While anydesired algorithm may be used for determining jump height from flighttime, in this illustrated example jump height is calculated based on thefollowing equation:

y=41.66708x−3.818335  Eq. 1,

wherein “y” represents jump height in inches and “x” represents flighttime in seconds. This equation was derived from a linear regression ofmeasured jump height and flight time data.

Players could challenge themselves and/or one another to attain specific“jump height goals,” e.g., based on a cumulative jump height formultiple “flight events” determined by systems and methods according tothis invention (e.g., first to “jump over” the Eiffel Tower, etc.).Other “jump height” metrics also may be used in challenges of this type,including an “instantaneous jump height,” “average jump height,” etc.

If desired, systems and methods according to at least some examples ofthis invention may define the various metrics more granularly thansimply determining various flight time features. As noted above, usingdifferent sensors and/or combinations of sensor input data, differenttypes of “flights” can be determined and distinguished from one another,including walking v. jogging v. running v. sprinting v. jumps (and/or v.running jumps v. vertical jumps). Therefore, if desired, “flight time”metrics (including instantaneous, average, or cumulative/total flighttime) and/or jump height metrics (including instantaneous, average, orcumulative/total jump height) as described above in conjunction withFIGS. 8-11 can be further broken down into flight times and/or jumpheights associated with any one or more of these different types ofactivities (or any desired combination of these activities), includingone or more of: walking time; jogging time; running time; sprintingtime; jumping time; running jump time; vertical jump time; joggingflight time; running flight time; sprinting flight time; jump flighttime; vertical jump flight time; running jump flight time; jogging jumpheight; running jump height; sprinting jump height; jumping jump height;vertical jumping jump height; and running jump type jump height.

Other ways of providing more detailed feedback and data to the user arepossible without departing from this invention. For example, bycombining the flight time and jump data (and optionally the moregranular flight time and jump data described above) with other inputdata, systems and methods according to at least some examples of thisinvention may further provide individual “flight time” and “jump height”metrics for players on offense and on defense (e.g., “offensive flighttime” and “defensive flight time”). As some more specific examples,sensor data (e.g., GPS sensors, image sensors, proximity sensors, etc.)could be used to provide data to systems and methods according to someexamples of the invention where play is occurring on the floor so that adetermination can be made as to whether the player is on the offensiveor defensive side of the floor. Abrupt changes in acceleration,velocity, and/or movement values and/or directions by multiple playersalso could be considered an indicator of a change in ball possession(transitioning the players from offense to defense and vice versa).“Ball possession” determination systems and methods also may be used todetermine whether an individual player and/or team is on offense ordefense. Some example “ball possession” determination systems andmethods are described, for example, in U.S. Patent Appln. Publn. No.2010/0184564 A1 published Jul. 22, 2010, which publication is entirelyincorporated herein by reference for all non-limiting purposes.

With such “offense” or “defense” input, systems and methods according toat least some examples of this invention may break down the flight timesand/or jump heights to include one or more of: offense walking, jogging,running, sprinting, jumping, running jump, and/or vertical jump times;offense jogging flight time; offense running flight time; offensesprinting flight time; offense jump flight time; offense vertical jumpflight time; offense running jump flight time; offense jogging jumpheight; offense running jump height; offense sprinting jump height;offense jumping jump height; offense vertical jumping jump height;offense running jump type jump height; defense walking, jogging,running, sprinting, jumping, running jump, and/or vertical jump times;defense jogging flight time; defense running flight time; defensesprinting flight time; defense jump flight time; defense vertical jumpflight time; defense running jump flight time; defense jogging jumpheight; defense running jump height; defense sprinting jump height;defense jumping jump height; defense vertical jumping jump height;and/or defense running jump type jump height.

Jump detection and/or jump determination information in accordance withat least some examples of this invention also may be used to provideadditional useful information, particularly if combined with informationregarding results of the jumping action. For example, determinationthat: (a) a player has possession of the ball (e.g., using a wrist basedor body based ball contact/proximity sensing system), (b) the player inpossession of the ball jumps vertically or jumps while running (e.g.,using footwear based sensors), and (c) the player releases possession ofthe ball can be used by systems and methods according to examples ofthis invention as a determination that the player: (i) took a shot(e.g., if ball proximity to the rim and/or backboard is determined, andoptionally whether the player made or missed the shot), (ii) made a pass(e.g., if ball possession by another player on the same team isdetermined), (iii) made a turnover (e.g., if ball possession by anotherplayer on the other team is determined), or (iv) had the shot or passblocked (e.g., if an opposing player contacts the ball and changes itstrajectory). As another example, determination that a player not inpossession of the ball (but optionally detected as being in proximity tothe ball): (a) jumps (e.g., using footwear based sensor) and (b)contacts the ball (e.g., with a ball based sensor) to change thetrajectory of the ball may be used to determine that the player blockedanother player's shot and/or intercepted a pass. An yet another example,determination that a player not in possession of the ball (butoptionally detected as being in proximity to the ball): (a) jumps (e.g.,using footwear based sensor), (b) possesses the ball (e.g., with a ballbased sensor), and (c) lands the jump (before or after gainingpossession of the ball) may be used to determine that the playerrebounded the ball or caught a pass (from a teammate or from one of theother team's players). Flight times and/or jump heights associated withany of these other detected activities could be tallied and theinformation presented to the player, coach, etc. as usefulcoaching/training data and/or metrics.

CONCLUSION

Providing an activity environment having one or more of the featuresdescribed herein may provide a user with an experience that willencourage and motivate the user to engage in athletic activities andimprove his or her fitness. Users may further communicate through socialcommunities and challenge one another to participate in pointchallenges.

Aspects of the embodiments have been described in terms of illustrativeembodiments thereof. Numerous other embodiments, modifications andvariations within the scope and spirit of this disclosure will occur topersons of ordinary skill in the art from a review of this disclosure.For example, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that thesteps illustrated in the illustrative figures may be performed in otherthan the recited order, and that one or more steps illustrated may beoptional in accordance with aspects of the embodiments.

We claim:
 1. A system for monitoring an athletic performance,comprising: an input system for: (a) receiving right foot launch inputdata from a right foot sensor system relating to a plurality of rightfoot launch events, wherein the right foot launch input data includes atleast a timestamp associated with each right foot launch eventindicating a time that respective right foot launch event occurred; (b)receiving left foot launch input data from a left foot sensor systemrelating to a plurality of left foot launch events, wherein the leftfoot launch input data includes at least a timestamp associated witheach left foot launch event indicating a time that respective left footlaunch event occurred; (c) receiving right foot strike input data fromthe right foot sensor system relating to a plurality of right footstrike events, wherein the right foot strike input data includes atleast a timestamp associated with each right foot strike eventindicating a time that respective right foot strike event occurred; and(d) receiving left foot strike input data from the left foot sensorsystem relating to a plurality of left foot strike events, wherein theleft foot strike input data includes at least a timestamp associatedwith each left foot strike event indicating a time that respective leftfoot strike event occurred; a processor system programmed and adaptedto: (a) identify a first set of timestamps, wherein the first set oftimestamps includes temporally adjacent right foot launch, left footlaunch, right foot strike, and left foot strike events; and (b)determine a first flight time associated with the first set oftimestamps, wherein the first flight time is based at least in part on afirst time duration included by the first set of timestamps when boththe left foot and the right foot are simultaneously not in contact witha surface; and an output system for outputting output data includinginformation containing or derived from the first flight time.
 2. Asystem according to claim 1, wherein, in determining the first flighttime, the processor system is programmed and adapted to determine thefirst flight time as:First Flight Time=T1−T2, wherein T1 corresponds to a time of a timestampfrom the first set of timestamps associated with an earlier of the rightfoot strike event or the left foot strike event and T2 corresponds to atime of a timestamp from the first set of timestamps associated with alater of the right foot launch event or the left foot launch event.
 3. Asystem according to claim 2, wherein the processor system is furtherprogrammed and adapted to: identify a second set of timestamps differentfrom the first set of timestamps, wherein the second set of timestampsincludes temporally adjacent right foot launch, left foot launch, rightfoot strike, and left foot strike events; and determine a second flighttime associated with the second set of timestamps, wherein the secondflight time is determined as:Second Flight Time=T3−T4, wherein T3 corresponds to a time of atimestamp associated with an earlier of the right foot strike event orthe left foot strike event from the second set of timestamps and T4corresponds to a time of a timestamp associated with a later of theright foot launch event or the left foot launch event from the secondset of timestamps.
 4. A system according to claim 3, wherein theprocessor system is further programmed and adapted to: determine a firstjump height for an event associated with the first flight time based, atleast in part, on the determined first flight time; and determine asecond jump height for an event associated with the second flight timebased, at least in part, on the determined second flight time.
 5. Asystem according to claim 3, wherein the processor system is furtherprogrammed and adapted to determining a cumulative flight time based atleast in part on the first flight time and the second flight time.
 6. Asystem according to claim 1, wherein the processor system is furtherprogrammed and adapted to determine a first jump height for an eventassociated with the first flight time based, at least in part, on thedetermined first flight time.
 7. A system according to claim 1, whereinthe processor system is further programmed and adapted to: identify asecond set of timestamps different from the first set of timestamps,wherein the second set of timestamps includes temporally adjacent rightfoot launch, left foot launch, right foot strike, and left foot strikeevents; and determine a second flight time associated with the secondset of timestamps, wherein the second flight time is based at least inpart on a second time duration included by the second set of timestampswhen both the left foot and the right foot are simultaneously not incontact with a surface.
 8. A system according to claim 7, wherein theprocessor system is further programmed and adapted to determine acumulative flight time based at least in part on the first time durationand the second time duration.
 9. A system according to claim 7, whereinthe processor system is further programmed and adapted to: determine afirst jump height for an event associated with the first flight timebased, at least in part, on the determined first flight time; anddetermine a second jump height for an event associated with the secondflight time based, at least in part, on the determined second flighttime.
 10. A system according to claim 9, wherein the processor system isfurther programmed and adapted to determine a cumulative jump heightbased at least in part on the first jump height and the second jumpheight.
 11. A system according to claim 7, wherein the processor systemis further programmed and adapted to determine a cumulative jump heightbased at least in part on the first flight time and the second flighttime.
 12. A system according to claim 1, further comprising: a rightfoot sensor for measuring at least one of right foot acceleration,contact force between a right shoe and a contact surface, or change incontact force between the right shoe and the contact surface to identifythe right foot launch events and the right foot strike events; a leftfoot sensor for measuring at least one of left foot acceleration,contact force between a left shoe and a contact surface, or change incontact force between the left shoe and the contact surface to identifythe left foot launch events and the left foot strike events; and atransmission system for transmitting contact force data measured by theright foot sensor and the left foot sensor to the input system.
 13. Asystem for monitoring an athletic performance, comprising: an inputsystem for: (a) receiving right foot launch input data from a right footsensor system relating to a plurality of right foot launch events,wherein the right foot launch input data includes at least a timestampassociated with each right foot launch event indicating a time thatrespective right foot launch event occurred; (b) receiving left footlaunch input data from a left foot sensor system relating to a pluralityof left foot launch events, wherein the left foot launch input dataincludes at least a timestamp associated with each left foot launchevent indicating a time that respective left foot launch event occurred;(c) receiving right foot strike input data from the right foot sensorsystem relating to a plurality of right foot strike events, wherein theright foot strike input data includes at least a timestamp associatedwith each right foot strike event indicating a time that respectiveright foot strike event occurred; and (d) receiving left foot strikeinput data from the left foot sensor system relating to a plurality ofleft foot strike events, wherein the left foot strike input dataincludes at least a timestamp associated with each left foot strikeevent indicating a time that respective left foot strike event occurred;a processor system programmed and adapted to: (a) identify a pluralityof sets of event timestamps, wherein the sets of event timestampsinclude temporally adjacent right foot launch, left foot launch, rightfoot strike, and left foot strike events; and (b) determine flight timesassociated with at least some of the plurality of sets of eventtimestamps, wherein each flight time is based at least in part on a timeduration included by a corresponding set of timestamps when both theleft foot and the right foot are simultaneously not in contact with asurface; and an output system for outputting output data includinginformation containing or derived from the flight times.
 14. A systemaccording to claim 13, wherein the processor system is furtherprogrammed and adapted to determine a cumulative flight time for atleast a portion of the athletic performance based on the flight timesassociated with the plurality of sets of event timestamps.
 15. A systemaccording to claim 14, wherein the output data includes informationcontaining or derived from the cumulative flight time.
 16. A systemaccording to claim 14, wherein the processor system is furtherprogrammed and adapted to determine a cumulative jump height based onthe cumulative flight time or the flight times associated with theplurality of sets of event timestamps.
 17. A system according to claim16, wherein the output data includes information containing or derivedfrom the cumulative jump height.
 18. A system according to claim 17,wherein the output includes information sufficient to enable display ofcumulative flight time over a course of the athletic performance.
 19. Asystem according to claim 13, wherein the processor system is furtherprogrammed and adapted to determine a cumulative jump height based onthe flight times associated with the plurality of sets of eventtimestamps.
 20. A system according to claim 13, further comprising: adisplay device for generating a human perceptible display based on theoutput data, wherein the display includes information containing orderived from the determined flight times associated with at least someof the plurality of sets of event timestamps, and wherein the displayincludes at least one of: instantaneous flight time over at least aportion of the athletic performance, a comparison of the instantaneousflight time with instantaneous flight time data of a different athleticperformance, an average flight time over at least a portion of theathletic performance, a comparison of the average flight time withaverage flight time data of a different athletic performance, acumulative flight time over at least a portion of the athleticperformance, and a comparison of the cumulative flight time withcumulative flight time data of a different athletic performance.
 21. Asystem according to claim 13, wherein, in determining the flight time,the processor system is programmed and adapted to determine the flighttime for at least some individual sets of event timestamps of theplurality of sets of event timestamps as a time duration for thatindividual set of event time stamps between: (a) a time of a timestampfrom the that individual set of timestamps associated with an earlier ofthe right foot strike event or the left foot strike event and (b) a timeof a timestamp from that individual set of timestamps associated with alater of the right foot launch event or the left foot launch event. 22.A method for analyzing an athletic performance, comprising: receivingright foot launch input data from a right foot sensor system relating toa plurality of right foot launch events, wherein the right foot launchinput data includes at least a timestamp associated with each right footlaunch event indicating a time that respective right foot launch eventoccurred; receiving left foot launch input data from a left foot sensorsystem relating to a plurality of left foot launch events, wherein theleft foot launch input data includes at least a timestamp associatedwith each left foot launch event indicating a time that respective leftfoot launch event occurred; receiving right foot strike input data fromthe right foot sensor system relating to a plurality of right footstrike events, wherein the right foot strike input data includes atleast a timestamp associated with each right foot strike eventindicating a time that respective right foot strike event occurred;receiving left foot strike input data from the left foot sensor systemrelating to a plurality of left foot strike events, wherein the leftfoot strike input data includes at least a timestamp associated witheach left foot strike event indicating a time that respective left footstrike event occurred; identifying a first set of timestamps, whereinthe first set of timestamps includes temporally adjacent right footlaunch, left foot launch, right foot strike, and left foot strikeevents; and determining a first flight time associated with the firstset of timestamps, wherein the first flight time is based at least inpart on a first time duration included by the first set of timestampswhen both the left foot and the right foot are simultaneously not incontact with a surface.
 23. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumincluding computer executable instruction stored thereon that, whenexecuted by a processor, cause the processor to perform the functionaccording to claim
 22. 24. A method for analyzing an athleticperformance, comprising: receiving right foot launch input data from aright foot sensor system relating to a plurality of right foot launchevents, wherein the right foot launch input data includes at least atimestamp associated with each right foot launch event indicating a timethat respective right foot launch event occurred; receiving left footlaunch input data from a left foot sensor system relating to a pluralityof left foot launch events, wherein the left foot launch input dataincludes at least a timestamp associated with each left foot launchevent indicating a time that respective left foot launch event occurred;receiving right foot strike input data from the right foot sensor systemrelating to a plurality of right foot strike events, wherein the rightfoot strike input data includes at least a timestamp associated witheach right foot strike event indicating a time that respective rightfoot strike event occurred; receiving left foot strike input data fromthe left foot sensor system relating to a plurality of left foot strikeevents, wherein the left foot strike input data includes at least atimestamp associated with each left foot strike event indicating a timethat respective left foot strike event occurred; identifying a pluralityof sets of event timestamps, wherein the sets of event timestampsinclude temporally adjacent right foot launch, left foot launch, rightfoot strike, and left foot strike events; and determining flight timesassociated with at least some of the plurality of sets of eventtimestamps, wherein each flight time is based at least in part on a timeduration included by a corresponding set of timestamps when both theleft foot and the right foot are simultaneously not in contact with asurface.
 25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium includingcomputer executable instruction stored thereon that, when executed by aprocessor, cause the processor to perform the function according toclaim 24.